American Sign Language: "make"

WARNING: The sign "MAKE" is different from the sign "coffee." In the sign
for "coffee" the top hand does a rotational movement as if turning the crank
of an (old fashioned/antique) coffee grinder--thus only one hand moves.
But for the sign "make" BOTH hands twist as if screwing something together.
See COFFEE.
Each semester a couple of my students lose points on tests because they
didn't pay attention to the difference between these two signs.

The sign for "make" has a couple of popular versions.

In one version you put the fists one on top of the other and use a twisting
movement. Do the movement twice. The hands "stay" in contact with each
other.

Sample sentence:
MAKE CAKE, HOW-MANY TEASPOON SALT?

Sample sentence:
Do you know how to make soup?

There is another version of the sign for "make."
In this version, the hands come apart.

In a message dated 10/31/2012 2:19:01 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, a student
writes:

Dear Dr. Bill,
Is it proper to use the sign for "make" when saying
things like " I will make you go home"" or " you made me angry". It
isn't so much a manufacturer like in the examples you provide. If not,
what do you recommend for instances like that, the sign force? I think
it might be too strong.
Thank you!
(Name on File)

Dear ASL Hero,
Hello :)
I concur that the sign FORCE is too strong when
striving to convey the phrase "you make me angry."

Instead I recommend restructuring your sentence and using either the
WHEN sign or the
HAPPEN sign in situations where you want to tell someone they "make you"
feel something.
For example:
WHEN YOU ARRIVE LATE, I FEEL ANGRY!

If you want to ascribe more of a "cause" and effect, you cause use the CAUSE
sign.
For example:
WHEN YOU ARRIVE LATE CAUSE ME ANGRY!

Another method would be to use the sign
INFLUENCE, but adapt it a bit so that it is aimed backward over the back
of the non-dominant hand toward you the signer -- thus meaning
"INFLUENCE-me."
For example:
HAPPEN YOU ARRIVE LATE, INFLUENCE-me ANGRY!

Another approach would be to use a rhetorical question. For example:
I/ME ANGRY WHY-rhet? YOU ARRIVE LATE! (Note: The
WHY-rhet would use raised eyebrows rather than the usual furrowed brows
since you are not asking for a reason, you are pseudo asking if the person
wants to know why you are late which would be a yes or no type question --
if you were actually asking a question).

So, keeping in mind that there are plenty of very appropriate ways to get
the "you make me feel" type of concept across without using the
MAKE/manufacture/create/produce sign -- I will now say that in "real life"
many of us Deafies do indeed use the MAKE sign in such situations. That
doesn't mean we are using "appropriate ASL" it just means that the
individual is bilingual and he/she is choosing to mix and match his/her
vocabulary choices in a bit of a language mash-up. The longer such
"mashing-up" goes on and the more people that do it -- the stronger the
likelihood that one day such usage shall be considered "standard." No one
individual will make that decision for the community, rather, if it happens
it will be thousands of individuals making the decision until so many do it
that anyone who doesn't do it will look or feel "out of sync." We are not at
the tipping over point yet on increasing the semantic range of the sign
"MAKE" but many individuals have indeed started leaning.
Best to you.
Cordially,
Dr. Bill

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